NEW GEAR
NEW RELEASES
SAMSUNG GALAXY GEAR
Is wrist-based computing
the next frontier, or just a
pipedream from the past?
Here is what the Samsung
Galaxy Gear smartwatch
has going for it.
As to battery life, the 315 mAh Li-ion battery
will get users through a full day of work, but not
much else.
At present the Gear can only pair
with the Galaxy Note 3, and act as
a second display.
With its 1.6" Super AMOLED the main purpose
of the watch is to offer easier access to
notifications, such as incoming calls, incoming
emails and SMS’s and Twitter updates.
Beneath the hood resides an 800
MHz processor, 512 MB of memory
and 4 GB of internal storage.
It will be released
this month in SA.
Thanks to two microphones and a built-in
speaker, the Gear also enables users to make
calls from it.
WATCH OUT!
The Cookoo
The Cookoo smartwatch does things
a little differently, offering up a more
traditional analogue watch face, that
notifies you – either by a pop-up icon,
vibration or a sound – of events on your
smartphone. While it requires an app
to be installed on your smartphone or
tablet, this is currently available for iOS
and select Android devices.
Sony SmartWatch 2
The SmartWatch 2 is already Sony’s second
entry in the smartwatch race, this a 48 g
device sports a 1.6" screen with a resolution
of 220 x 176 pixels and runs off Android 4.0.
It similarly relies on Bluetooth to pair with
Android smartphones to receive notifications,
and the company has promised more than
200 unique apps for it.
The Pebble
Another smartwatch worth watching out for is the Kickstarter funded Pebble. It’s being
touted as being the sportsperson’s new best friend, with apps that cater particularly to
cyclists, runners and golfers. Additionally, it will boast customisable watchfaces, a 144 x
168 pixel display and will ‘play nice’ with iOS and Android devices.
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October 2013 | TechSmart